Elena Vladescu is a physics teacher at "Nicolae Titulescu" National Vocational College in Slatina, Romania. She participated in the inGenious project this school year, implementing 3 STEM activities with her students and providing feedback. She also participated in online courses and workshops, an online chat, and competitions. Both the inGenious and PBL projects provided professional development for Elena and allowed her to share best practices in STEM education with other European teachers.

1. Elena Vladescu
Physics teacher
“Nicolae Titulescu” National Vocational College,
Slatina, Romania

2. Hello,
My name is Elena Vladescu and I am Physics teacher to
“Nicolae Titulescu” National Vocational College, Slatina,
Romania.
This school year, I worked in the inGenious project, as a
pilot school teacher in the EU group, under the
coordination of Mrs. Evita Tasiopoulou.
My students are from 15 to 18 years old.

3. Last school year, I implemented and evaluated 3
activities with my upper secondary classes, from
inGenious Practice Gallery:
1. Experience Science with Sensors (22/11/2013);
2. Street lighting (09/12/2013);
3. Skoool Football (17/01/2014).

4. 1. Experience Science with Sensors

5. 2. Street lighting
2.

6. 3. Skoool Football

7. Prior and after each activity, we
filled in the appropriate
questionnaires.
After testing these 3 practices, I
provided my feedback, by sending
to my coordinator the outcomes of
our work: videos, photos, samples
(copies) of pupils’ work, posters ,
Power Point presentations for each
tested practice.
Together with my pupils, I
participated in the online inGenious
chat “The Environment,
Development and Behaviour” (27
May 2014).
We took part in 2 inGenious
Competitions: in the inGenious
school competition, with an entry
named “Physics for Juniors” and in
the inGenious poster competition
with an entry named “Street
Lighting”.
Also, I participated in 2 online
courses for teachers from
European Schoolnet Academy:
“Innovative practices for engaging
STEM teaching” and “Future
Classroom Scenarios”.
In the 8th inGenious workshop,
20-22 June in Setubal, Portugal, I
had the opportunity to meet
teachers from the European pilot
schools, teacher trainers, industry
representatives and policy makers.
My headmaster participated in the
the 3rd inGenious academy,
Stockholm, March 2014.

8. Here is our
poster. We are
among the
semifinalists, so,
please, vote
“Street Lighting”!

9. I disseminated these activities among my colleagues,
parents, local, national and international community.
Another STEM project that I participated in was PBL
project. The PBL Projects team specializes in
facilitating “learn by doing” workshops in which
instructors experience PBL as students, gain access to
teachers’ resources, implementation and assessment
strategies for PBL, and are prepared to develop their
own industry-based “Challenges” using the
Challenge Design Guide. Teacher education faculty
are being prepared to adapt and implement PBL into
existing teacher preparation courses.

11. Contact Principal Investigator Fenna Hanes at fhanes@nebhe.org to learn
more.

12. Both inGenious and PBL projects provided me
professional development activities, gave me the
opportunity to implement activities based on authentic
interdisciplinary problems in Science and to share best
practices with STEM teachers from all Europe.
If inGenious project will continue also next year, I’ll
encourage more STEM teachers from my school to
apply to become pilot teachers.
This way, I want to promote the importance of
STEM education in my school and in my town and
the importance of STEM careers for students.
Thank you for attention!